Application of Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) in Assessing the Gendered Impact of a

Dairy Value Chain Project

The East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) Project

Gendered Impact Assessment using the WEAI Methodology

EADD is a regional dairy industry development project (2008-2012) that is implemented in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda

It is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is being implemented by a consortium of partners led by Heifer International in partnership with TechnoServe, ILRI, ICRAF and ABS TCM

EADD envisions transforming 179,000 families by doubling household dairy income through integrated interventions in, dairy production, market access and knowledge application

Quantitative data was collected through household surveys. Male and female heads of household were interviewed using the household module

Spouses from male headed households were interviewed using the individual module and simultaneously with the male head of households

Qualitative data was obtained through in-depth case study interviews for selected women

Figure 1: The WEAI Methodology concept (Derived from the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

Brochure; IFPRI 2012)

The (EADD) Gender Strategy Goals

Generate economic and social gains to both men and women and their families

Overcome gender-based barriers that constrain dairy productivity and market participation

Promote equality of opportunity according to gender differences and needs

Increase the effective participation of both men and women in project activities

The (EADD) Gender Strategy Implementation

EADD has been addressing the gender gaps in the project systematically by building the capacity of staff to integrate gender in the program and ensuring equitable gender representation in farmer capacity building.

Advantages of using the WEAI Methodology

ILRI team and partners have just completed the training on WEAI methodology and will be able to

compute the WEAI of women beneficiaries of EADD as well as the Gender Parity in empowerment in

male headed households.

The ILRI Poverty Gender and Innovations (PGI) team of the Markets, Gender and Livelihoods theme is grateful for the support provided by the Ford Foundation for funding this study.

The questions in the intra-household survey provide opportunities for establishing dimensions in which women and men are disempowered

Each dimension has a number of measurable indicators that enable us to identify what aspects of the dimension contribute to empowerment or disempowerment

WEAI is an aggregate of the 5DE

and the GPI

Elizabeth Waithanji1, Njuki Jemimah2, Mutua Edna1, Boogaard Birgit1, Isabelle Baltenweck 1

and Gerald Mutinda 3

1International Livestock Research Institute 2Care USA 3East Africa Dairy Development (EADD)/ Heifer International